SAO: Concerto of Black
by Windraider
Summary: (Challenge by Feng Lengshun) Sometimes even the smallest things can lead to the greatest impact in the world. A chance meeting between two unlikely individuals opens a new direction, and the world of SAO is irreversibly changed
1. Prologue part 1

When one looked at the sky, they would notice a huge castle made of stone and steel floating.

It was so large that it's diameter easily covered over ten kilometers. On it was a total of a hundred floors each stacked on top of another.

Within them held a vast array of objects ranging from cities to towns, to villages, to forests and even mountains. Yet each floor only held a single stairway that led to the next or previous floor. However, once someone broke through and arrived at a city in the higher floor, the «Teleport Gates» there and in every city in the lower floors would connect, making it possible for anyone to move freely through these levels.

The conditions were hard, and at times seemingly impossible. However there those that were determined to clear all hundred floors.

The name of this castle was «Aincard» it is a floating world that embodies the spirit of life and death of 6000 people through the usage of swords. It is otherwise known as...

«Sword Art Online»


	2. Prologue part 2

"That will be four thousand yen."

The cashier informed me. Inwardly I winced at the price of the outrageous cost.

I paid for the parts before leaving.

Building a scooter was cheaper than buying one, however it still cost quite a fortune. Even though I was still underage by a few months or so, I decided to get one for the future.

I made my way home. I secretly hoped that my grandfather wasn't in. Though I no longer had to take kendo as he once requested, my relationship with him was not well in the slightest bit.

Taking a short detour, I decided to drop by the nearby gaming store.

Gaming was one of the few things I had truly been able to enjoy. It may be considered a cheap way to escape from the harshness of reality at times, but I didn't mind.

The store was small, barely the size of my room. Yet it held it's share of comfort.

Even when I wasn't in the mood to buy something, I still dropped by on a daily basis.

New games were stocked every week. I was in the mood to look at them.

There were only three shelves in the store along with a counter.

I approached the center shelf and reached for the top of it.

At the centre of it was the newest game that had just came out. Just as my hand was about to grab it, someone's did.

"Hey I saw it first!"

The owner of that voice was a girl standing next to me. I was so caught up at the prize I never noticed her.

A girl my age looked at me with mild annoyance. Her short hair though black was shining excessively. Her glasses did nothing to hide her eyes which was a vibrant purple that was fringed with long eyelashes. Her lips were pale.

"Are you going to buy it? If not mind passing to me. I want to see what it's about."

I never imagined that my meeting would this girl would play a large part in the upcoming events of my life.

* * *

**Author's word: I don't plan on doing very long chapters, as I'm trying to look at the writing style of the first volume. I was quite intrigued with it and tried giving it a try. Therefore, while updates might be fast, the chapters aren't very long.**


	3. Chapter 1

A claw swiped at my shoulder.

A small bit of red shot out from it. At the same time the thin line representing my life shrunk a little.

It only chipped away about 10% of it, however each drop was a reminder that I was coming closer to death.

I stepped back to gain some breathing room.

My enemy approached me quickly to finish me off.

I bent my knees as he raises his large claws in an attempt to swipe my head.

"Haaa..."

I forced myself to settle down. Though breathing was not a necessity in this world, it still served as a means of calming down.

Even if my enemy in front of me is but a virtual being that had been rendered in a 3d environment, it didn't change the fact that it was a being that could kill me.

My opponent was one who had the strength to match it's appearance. The enemy in front of me is a large grizzly bear covered in purple fur. It wore a large metallic helm along with a sturdy plate mail and greaves.

It was a monster that was generated by the system. If one was defeated, another one would eventually take it's place. The only consolation was that the spawning rate was low, and that only one could exist at a time as it was a rare monster.

The AI that controlled the bear's movement was one that was capable of analyzing my movements and responding based on them.

So in a sense, this monster could almost be considered alive.

The monster known as 'Armoured Frenzy' growled, showing it's sharp fangs from it's mouth.

The sight only rekindled my spirit in fighting it.

I did not change my stance at all. I merely stayed in my kneeling position, both my hands were on my blade, ready to strike in an instant.

"Raaaahh!"

With a powerful roar, he charges at me.

He pulls his claws back in an attempt to utilize a skill unique only to itself. I was unaware of it's name, but not it's nature. It was a powerful one hit strike that would easily break through a person's guard with ease.

Even though the distance between us about four meters, it only took 0.5 seconds to close the gap.

I throw myself back two meters, for I know that there is a minor impact that hits anyone nearby even if the direct attack misses.

The ground in front of me cracks under it's powerful attack.

The distance between us now is two meters.

"Hah!"

Pushing strength into my legs, I close the gap. Though it takes only 0.2 seconds for me to reach a striking distance, it is enough time for him to put up his guard.

However...

"Don't stop!"

A voice calls out from behind me.

A knife sails through the air from behind and stabs into my enemy's arm.

"Raarrgh!"

The beast cries in pain at the sudden attack. It diverts it's attention away from me and to my lone party member behind me.

I thrust my sword forth. It's blade was covered with a bluish glow as I did. It's speed was enhanced to near impossible levels.

I had successfully performed the skill Horizontal

It was the most important element in battles in Sword Skills

The sword slashed the beast acrossed it's neck, the only weak point it has. Bright red light scattered from the wound instead of blood, I ignored it.

The clear light that shone from my blade faded. At the same time, the HP bar above the Armoured Frenzy's head had been drained off.

Falling on it's back, all movement stopped.

Like the sound of glass breaking, it's body broke into countless polygons before fading away.

At the same time, a notice appeared in the center of my vision, telling me of the experience points gained along with several items.

It was over. The moment a body breaks apart, it signals the end of one's life here.

"Do you need to rest?"

I turned around and shook my head at my partner.

The girl with black hair dressed in a green tunic looks at me. She plays with a dagger in hand while grinning at me.

"Let's continue some more first. We head back before we run out of items."

She nodded at my answer.

We still were far from done for the day. Every day the two of us put our lives on the line as we advanced through the seemingly near infinite rank of monsters on our quest to reach and clear the hundred floor.

Though we had the option of just staying behind in a town or so and allow someone else to clear the game, we chose not too. In a manner of speaking, perhaps the two us were distorted individuals who chose this path due to different reasons.

Ultimately however, the two of us were simply idiots who simply wanted to believe we had what it took to clear this death game.

"You probably won't remember, but we should try and finish up quickly. The spawning rate for the monsters here is low."

I nodded in understanding. In an area like this, it was a first come first serve basis.

As I proceeded through the forest with partner, I thought back to the day where it began.

* * *

**I just wanted to say, that I don't plan on starting on somewhere like the level 70+ floor or so.**

**I know that the 75 floors could contain so much content that even the author might not have been able to fill it up.**

**As such, there are times when I might do some time skip by about a week to a month at most.**


	4. Chapter 2

A long dagger was swung in a beautiful arc, hitting nothing but air.

"Don't let your guard down."

Right after I gave that warning, the blue boar charged forth at it's target. I burst into laughter at she was thrown off her feet and landed some distance away.

"Really, I know it's your first time playing an MMORPG like this, but I didn't think it was possible to be this bad at it."

"You bastard. Sometimes I think you only dragged me into this game so you can watch how badly I fail at this."

A girl by the name of Sinion is glanced at me with a scowl on her face.

"What a good idea, I should have thought about that sooner."

I met this girl wearing a black undershirt with a green vest and leather pants at a game shop near my house. Her real name was Shion, but as this was a game, calling her by that would be somewhat rude in my opinion.

She slowly pushed herself off the ground.

As she did so, she picked up a pebble in one hand and raised very act caused the system to assist in the activation of a skill. The pebble glowed green before it went flying, drawing a straight line of light and hitting the boar in the center of it's face.

*Ghiii!* The boar squealed as it's remaining HP was depleted and it burst into polygons.

"At the very least, I can take some pride in knowing I can trash you in long distance attacks." She proudly declares. I can do nothing to deny that.

In a game where most of the combat is done through close combat and tactical skills, she chose to differ.

With little skill in close combat along with much reluctance in improving it, she chose to take up the throwing skill instead.

She had polished her skill to the point where even a simple pebble is capable of causing critical damage to the monsters around us with ease.

Off course, this is but the starting town.

The monster that she killed was a «Frenzy Boar» whose level range reached from one to three at most.

It was amusing to see her getting run over by them repeatedly when she tried to practice her knife work on them.

She let out a series of adorable squeals each time she got hit. Too bad she got tired of that and reverted back to throwing things at them.

"Honestly, I should have just done that from the start."

She placed her hands on her hips and sighed.

"The way you were getting tossed about by a boar, one would think that you were fighting a boss or something like that."

"If I had to fight it in such a manner, it might as well be."

"Too bad you don't get more than the usual experience points for all your trouble."

Even though I was teasing her, I kind of understood how she feels. Just as I was much better at close range combat, she was much better than me at long range.

Leveling up in this game was not easy. It took a lot of time and effort just to get from level one to three.

Passive and active skills was also something difficult to master. It was why it was difficult to focus on more than one spec at a time.

"I'm starting to wish that there was a quick and easy way to move around."

"Your only saying that because you find it troublesome to keep coming back after getting trampled."

"I'm starting to consider leaving this game."

She huffed in annoyance. I knew that she simply didn't want others to see her having to respawn time and again.

«Nerve Gear».

That is the name of the console we were using right now to plant ourselves into this VRMMOPRG.

Unlike the other old consoles with controllers or screen TV's, the Nerve Gear only had a single interface: a streamlined interface that covered your whole head and face.

Inside, there were numerous signal transceivers. By using the electronic signals sent by those transceivers, the gear accessed the user's brain itself. The user didn't use their eyes or ears to see and hear, the signals went directly to their brain. In addition, the machine could access not only sight and sound, but also: touch, taste, and smell as well—that is to say, all five senses.

In short, it would literally send our minds to a virtual world.

Half a year ago, this machine (which started selling in May, 2022) successfully created a «Virtual Reality». The electronics company which created the Nerve Gear called the actual act of linking to the virtual reality...

«FullDive».

It was a total seclusion from reality, fitting of the word "full".

The reason for this is that the Nerve Gear not only sent fake signals to the five senses, it also blocked and rerouted the orders that the brain sent to the body.

This can be called the most basic requirement for moving freely in a virtual reality. If the body received the brain's signals when the user was in FullDive, the moment the user decided they wanted to «run» their actual body would run into a wall.

Because the Nerve Gear could reroute the commands the brain sent through the spinal cord, Sinion and I could both move our avatars around freely and swing our swords, or in her case, knives around.

Though getting hit does sting, I guess that's part of the price to pay.

"You say that, but I'm sure you won't. I don't think you'll ever be able to live down the knowledge that a pig kicked your ass."

She glares at me for that remark. Without warning, she points her hand at me, and a straight line of light is shot past my head.

"You ever tell anyone about that, and I'm going to put a hole through your head."

"...Got it." I raised my hands in surrender.

The way she is right now, I can actually believe that threat.

"Anyway..." I coughed, trying to steer the direction of the conversation away. "Have you decided on your playing style? In a week's time, the Beta testing will come to an end."

At present, only a thousand players were around on this massive server. This was the best time to get ahead of the others.

Because once the game is officially launched, many would be fighting amongst one another, especially for the first few quests. Making the starting zone a nightmare.

The best thing to do was to get ahead of them as far as possible.

"I have an idea of what I want to do. I just need some guidance."

She has no qualms about declaring her problems. I guess that's one of the things I respect about her.

"All right then. You tell me how you want to play, and I'll tell you mine."

At this time, the two us were simply having fun, unaware of the the horror that would be unleashed not long after.


	5. Chapter 3

"Ahh... ha... uwahh!"

Countless swords were being swung about the field as many beginner players went through the tutorial.

"You sure you don't want to join them?"

I asked of my partner.

She simply scowled at me.

The two of leaned against a tree observing the new players. That, and Sinon had something to do here.

"I'm fine. I know that compared to you at close range, I'm lacking. But I'm not so far behind, that I need a tutorial."

It was rude to think it, but Sinon and I were quite far ahead of the others here. Though on paper, we were only level 9, the reality was that it was a huge gap between us and the newcomers.

As leveling in this game was really difficult.

The beta testing had a full month's period, and amongst those that were chosen, the two us were amongst those that made it the furthest.

Had it been any other game from the past, a solid gamer could easily reach over level 70 within a month with ease.

However Sword Art Online was not like that. Even if you played seriously, you would still have to be considered lucky to bypass level 10.

Neither Sinon nor I were heavy gamers. The reason why the two us were able to make it this far was because we had a different mind set and playing style as compared to the others.

"By the way...can we hurry and leave? I really don't want to be here."

I looked at her while grinning.

"Why? Do you not like your first memories here?"

She turned and glared at me.

"I thought we said we weren't going to discuss that any further?" She growls at me.

I merely looked away. I did my best in trying to keep a straight face as I play the memories of her getting stomped by a pig back then.

"Still..."

She catches me off guard when she spoke softly.

"What's wrong?" I asked her.

"Nothing." She shakes her head. "It's just that I never imagined that I would be playing this kind of game, and with someone I barely known for more than month."

I nodded in understanding.

Obviously, we didn't know each other too well in real life. All we knew of each other was that the two of us often visited the same gaming store due convenience.

But there was one thing I wanted to ask.

"You said this kind of game right? Does that mean that you were originally looking for something else?"

She didn't reply to my question.

"Haaahh...Hahh..."

Some guy with reddish hair held up by a bandana and simple leather armor worn over his thin body was panting as he slowly dragged his feet past us.

Even though breathing wasn't really needed in this world, the mindset of humans just couldn't comprehend that, and so we continued to try and do so.

"Something wrong?" I asked him.

"It's the damn boars! I can't seem to hit any of them." He replies to my question.

I couldn't help but suppressed a smirk.

The way he said that reminded me of my first time here with Sinion.

"Want some help with that?"

"Hey! Do we really have time for this?"

I ignored her and continued to offer my help.

"It's actually quite simple if you know how the system works."

"Simple? I've been getting run over by boars all day long. How is anything simple?"

The way he answer also reminds me of her first time here.

She sighs once she realizes that my mind was set on helping him.

"Oh fine. If you want to waste time helping the newbies, I'll go ahead first and get my stuff."

Sinon was never really much of a group person sadly. She often distanced herself whenever we tried interacting with the other beta testers.

It was no surprise that she was doing the same with the newbies.

"Was that your girlfriend?"

The guy asks me the moment she's out of side.

"Don't even joke like that."

The idea of her being in a relationship with me? That isn't even funny. I mean she is fun to tease, but she seems quite isolated at times. I find it hard to imagine her in one.

"Anyway...do you even know the basics of sword skills? Just swinging your sword alone won't do much if it's not within the system."

"Eh?"

He looks surprise. Was he playing without even going through the manual first?

"You didn't know? Just striking a monster alone does regular damage only. Did you start this game without learning the basics?"

"Umm...well..." He looks away.

"Yeah you didn't did you?"

"It was so confusing."

He immediately replies. Seems like I hit a sore spot.

I coughed trying to get back on topic.

"Anyway, want some help? I think it's easier to learn through experience. That and my partner is going to take a while to finish her business here."

His face brightens at my offer.

"Well if you're offering help, then there's no reason to turn it down."

I nodded in understanding.

"Right...by the way. My name is Kirito."

I offered him a hand.

"And you can call me Klein."

He accepted it.

"All right then, the first thing you should do is-"

Thirty minutes later...

Ha!"

With his low yell, he jumped off the ground with a swift movement and brought his sword down.

*Swish—!* With this crisp sound, the sword drew its flame red trajectory through the air. The «Reaver», a basic skill of the one-handed curved sword, struck the boar right in its neck as it was about to charge and got rid of the rest of its HP.

The boar then shattered into countless polygons.

""Ye~~a~~h!"

Klein struck an over-blown pose of victory with a huge smile on his face and raised his left hand. I couldn't help but flash a weary smile as I high-fived him.

"Congratulations. You took thirty minutes just to beat the most basic of monsters."

The look of shock he gave me was nearly priceless.

"What?! You gotta be kidding me? That has to got to be the equivalent of a mid boss or something."

"You can wish for it."

Speaking to him was fun. I wish I could have more times with this like Sinion.

Speaking of which where was she anyway? It wasn't like her to take this long.

"By the way...what time is it now?"

"Hmm? I think it's about 5:20 or so. Why?"

"I ordered a pizza for 5:30. It should be coming around soon enough."

"You like pizza or something?" I couldn't help but ask.

It was at this moment did a message icon appear in front of me.

"From Sinon?"

It was rare for her to message me, but each time she did it was for something noteworthy. Needless to say, I opened it.

"_Hey I can't find the logout button. Is the same thing happening with you?"_

I raised an eyebrow. She couldn't find that function?

I moved my right index and middle fingers together, and pulled downwards. This was the action that opened the «main menu window». Immediately afterwards, there was a ringing sound and a shining purple rectangle appeared.

This was the main menu screen.

"No logout feature? What is she talking about?"

The rectangle, wider than it was high, had a bunch of buttons to the left and a silhouette showing what equipment you had on to the right. At the bottom of the menu, there was a «LOGOUT» button that allowed you to escape from this world.

"I don't think such a thing is possible." I muttered with a sigh as I scrolled through the menu.

My finger scrolled downwards and...

My body froze.

It wasn't here.

It was just like she had said. The «LOGOUT» button had disappeared.

"What the hell?" I muttered to myself in shock.

"Hey, there's no logout button or something. Is this a bug or something?"

From behind me Klein shouted out.

"Should we try calling a GM or something like that?" I asked.

Even though I asked, I was already doing so. I'm sure that a bug like this is quite serious, and there's no way to not notice anything about it.

It was then did I receive another message from Sinion.

"_I tried contacting a GM earlier, but there's been no response. I think it maybe a bug of some sort. Meet me at the center of the town. It's getting restless here. I think other players are noticing it."_

I looked towards Klein who looked anxious enough to tear his hair off.

"Hey Kirito, isn't there some other way to log out?"

"Not that I know off. It seems that a bug of some sort is going on. Sinion just asked me to meet up with her at town."

Upon hearing my words, he breathes a sigh of relief.

"Oh it's just a bug then? Well I hope they fix it quickly then. Wouldn't want to trouble the pizza man."

I think he's misunderstanding what I'm saying. However I didn't feel like correcting him at the moment.

"Anyway...I'll be going off first. Try and be calm."

I gave him my advice before I turned around and walked off.

The town of beginnings was full of people. As it was the first day here, only the first floor was occupied for sure.

The floors that the Beta testers had cleared were only up to three. However with the official launched, it was returned back to one.

The only things that were allowed to remain was the levels, items and experience that they had collected.

"I hope they fix this soon. This isn't a laughing matter." I sighed as I went to meet up with my partner.

Despite the situation, I couldn't help but admire the scenery.

Aincrad's seasons were based on reality, so it was early fall here as well.

I looked up, sucking in the virtual air; taking a deep, cold breath.

It was just past 5:30 and the small strip of sky that could be seen was red with the light of the sunset. The endless plains were painted gold with the light of the evening sun, even if it was all virtual, the sense of beauty it held was real in it's own.

What I didn't know was that soon, this beauty would become a reality of it's own.

For soon, the world was going to change in ways unforeseen.


	6. Chapter 4

**Now just a warning or so, but some characters in this fic especially Sinon might be OOC but that's mostly because of the circumstances.**

**Think about it. No matter who you are, or what you've been through...once you get imprisoned in a death game, anyone will change.**

**In canon, because she was living a normal life the whole time, she grows up normally.**

**So if anyone says anything like OOC. Please think of the situation, and if you still think otherwise, then please inform me, but NO FLAMMING!**

* * *

"You're not going to eat?"

"I'm not in the mood for it."

She looks down on the ground while playing with her bread.

The two of us sat opposite each other over a campfire.

She simply hadn't been the same since the nightmare began two weeks ago.

The hope that outside help would arrive was quickly snuffed out.

Many people lost in the madness did things that were borderline insane. Such as spending hours trying to destroy the world which obviously didn't work. While others started talking to themselves. The worst were the ones who committed suicide.

Though the tension lessened somewhat after a few days, the fear and anxiety remained.

Most of all, the feeling of hopelessness.

Many had already sunk into despair.

My partner was like that.

Her eyes were becoming more and more listless with each passing day.

What I fear the most might end up becoming a reality at this rate.

At this rate, she might become a lifeless doll.

At present, she was far from it.

However the spirit she once had, was diminished. She was no longer as direct or unafraid to speak her mind.

Now she simply kept quiet, speaking only when talked too.

It also didn't help that our levels were nearing the cap of what we could reach here. It gave her little to nothing to strive for.

"Have you heard? I think some people are trying to get into the game."

I tried starting up a conversation with her.

"I heard. Many are too afraid though. They can't even bring themselves to do more than swing their blades around like headless chickens."

I nodded in understanding.

It reminds me of Klein. That guy couldn't figure out how to use sword skills on his own and even needed a half hour guide to do so.

I thought it was because he didn't read the manual.

But now I see that it wasn't truly the case.

"At the rate they're going, they are never going to make it past the first floor."

"Yeah...I don't think anyone's in the mood to listen."

Because of the situation, everyone's thinking only about don't dare approach other people to ask them for help and are trying to figure everything out for themselves.

Those that did figure things out for themselves have joined up with their kind leaving the weak to fend for themselves.

Each of them banded together to form either small groups called guilds, or to join together to create a large community called the army.

However they weren't unified enough.

They didn't know enough of the layout of the world. They didn't know how to proceed.

The only ones that knew that were the Beta testers.

People like me and Sinon.

"Still...do you think they can make it?"

I asked as I threw a pebble aside.

It was a pitiful attempt to look away from reality.

"They can do it. You should know as well right?"

"Yeah. The question is that how many people are going to die?"

During the Beta testing, we cleared the first floor. However in the process quite a lot of people were killed.

Thankfully back then, the respawn function was still available.

"I can't say."

She took a bite of her bread.

"I know for a fact that back then, it might have been possible to actually clear without dying. However no one bothered to work for it."

I nodded in agreement.

"Because back then, everyone could be as reckless as they want. Now however they can't. I doubt even the other Beta testers will try and rechallenge it this time round."

Fear can overwrite knowledge easily.

To them, it didn't matter if we knew it by heart or theory. As long as we were afraid to die, we wouldn't be able to act properly when the time came.

...Off course, there were bound to be some who are so sick of the situation that they think little of the situation at hand and would try anything even suicidal attacks.

We've seen that a few times.

"Hey Kirito...what do you think we should do now?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean...what do you think we should be doing now if we want to proceed?"

Her question catches me by surprise.

It's the first time she asks something like this in two weeks. Before all she was concern with was levelling up.

"Well..."

I looked away. I too have been thinking about that, but I simply couldn't come up a proper idea.

The problem is obvious, but the solution is difficult.

"I know there are two issues that must be solved no matter what."

After saying that, I turned back to look at her.

She shuffled about, wrapping her arms around her knees.

I spoke them out loud.

"The first being we need to restore hope to everyone. And the only way to do so is to-"

"Clear the first floor."

She finished my sentence for me.

I nodded in agreement.

"However that leads to the second problem. Unity and trust."

A boss couldn't be cleared by one person alone no matter how skilled they are.

Technically they could, but that's only in a one on one case. As most bosses are accompanied by a set of powerful monsters that spawn endlessly.

Because of this, a large group of players is needed to hold them off while a small group engaged the boss.

Without proper teamwork, it is impossible to react and counter the AI's movements.

"You know...I've been thinking. What if we tried to help those still stuck at the beginning?"

"What?"

Her idea catches me off guard, but before I could ask why, she decides to explain her reasoning.

"At present, everyone there is afraid because they don't know what to do. I feel that if someone were to try and assist them, they'll calm down."

I thought about it for a few seconds. Her idea was sound, and once I recognized it, I smiled.

"You know, you're surprisingly soft. I didn't think you were the type to go and help others."

As soon as I said that, her face turns red and she stands up quickly.

"Don't be stupid! I wasn't thinking about them! I was only thinking about how they can be used to break the tension! I really don't have any feelings regarding them all right?"

I laughed at her.

"Aww...maybe I should bring up subjects like this more often. I haven't heard an outburst like that since those pigs ran over-"

A streak of light flew past my head. Her finger was pointed at me.

"Hey..."

I raised my hands.

"That's not funny. This is an open area. Your name could turn orange for that you know?"

My warning does little to deter her from her anger.

"As long as it's not red it's fine right?"

The way she says it is so natural, that one would think she was used to attacking other people.

"It was just a harmless joke."

Another streak of light shoots at my face. I swiftly lean to the side and evaded the attack if barely.

"And that was a harmless shot."

She is smiling at me. And it is not the smile you would want to see.

"Why don't I ever learn?"

That was the question that went through my mind as she hit me in the forehead with a stone.

And damn did it hurt.

* * *

"Okay...I'm sorry. Can we continue where we left off?"

I rubbed my forehead. Damn the game mechanics for allowing pain to be felt as well.

"Fine...though if you bring up that topic again, you better be prepared."

She huffed in annoyance as she crosses her arms and looks away.

"Alright I get it."

I sighed while shrugging. Afterwards, my expression reverts to a serious one.

"Anyway...even if your idea makes sense, have you thought about how dangerous it could be?"

I'm no expert in life, nor have I actually led others on dangerous tasks, but even I know that not everything goes according to plan in reality.

"I did. However at the moment, it's a risk we'll just have to take. We can't proceed without manpower and unity. If it's impossible to rely on the guilds and the army. So, the only thing left to do is build or rather train a force of our own. We'll put up a notice on the notice board to call all those who are still struggling and teach them."

I had trouble registering what she just said. It took some time for my mind to reboot. Once it did, then I replied.

"I'm still having trouble believing what you're suggesting."

"Are you saying you want out?"

She smirks at me.

I simply sigh. My tension disappearing suddenly when I saw the conviction displayed on her face.

"Well...I did say I was going to take responsibility for you. So I'm in."

Her lips curl into a smile and she gives a nod of appreciation.

"Right. Then tomorrow, we head back to the starting town and find them."

"Why not now?"

I point to her name above her health bar.

She looks up and it and did a small take back.

"Oh right. It's orange."

There are three colours that can be used to tell a person's state.

Green for normal.

Orange for people who have attacked others, and red for people who have killed others.

In the cases of orange and red, they are consequences if they attempt to enter a town, and they also will not be able to interact with any other NPC out there in the field.

"You really should work on your temper."

I laughed lightly. She looked down in mild embarrassment.

Including the Beta testing period, she had her name turned orange quite often because of this.

"It'll wear off in a few hours or so. Try and get some rest first."

I threw myself back and laid on the ground. I could just enter a town and sleep in a safe zone, but I wasn't going to leave her alone.

"Do you want to take first shift? Or should I?"

The problem with sleeping outdoors is that a player could easily attack you while you're asleep, or even force you to manipulating your own menu to steal all your items. As such, it is only proper to do so when you have others watching over you.

"Either way is fine."

She nods in approval.

"Fine, then I'll take first shift. I'll wake you up after an hour or two."

As I closed my eyes and allowed the night to take me. I prayed tomorrow will at least be easy.

I should learn by now, nothing in times like this is ever easy.


End file.
